The Sunday Telegraph
SUN 13 JUN 2004, Page 031
Why TV crime keeps paying
By RICHARD CLUNE

Cop shows have us all under house-arrest in our living rooms and it seems viewers -- and the networks -- couldn't be happier. RICHARD CLUNE reports.
Australia is in the grip of a television crime wave. The plethora of police currently patrolling our living rooms are led by Law And Order and CSI, with back-up provided by NCIS, Third Watch, 24, The Bill, Taggart and local boys Blue Heelers and Stingers.

And as Nine and Ten have bought the latest Law And Order and CSI ventures, the trend is set to continue.

In 2005, CSI will develop another team of investigators, led by veteran actor Gary Sinise.
Ten will pin its hopes on Jerry Orbach, currently playing Detective Lennie Briscoe in the original Law And Order, as he moves from the street to the courtroom in Law And Order: Trial By Jury. Based on current figures for both shows and their spin-offs, the crime gamble seems a safe bet. The Law And Order tree continues its healthy growth. All three branches average over the magical million mark.

While the latest offerings, SVU and Criminal Intent, draw about 1.5 million viewers an episode, CSI and CSI Miami set the benchmark with an average of 1.9 million and 1.7 million respectively.
This is in addition to 1.6 million viewers Nine's other crime drama, Without A Trace, averages.
Crime and television have been handcuffed together since the medium's invention.

We've moved from bank robberies and balaclavas -- think shows like The Sweeney, Cop Shop, Hill Street Blues -- to deviancy and deprivation.

But David Mott, Ten's head of programming, believes the shows still follow a simple formula, albeit one with plausible scripts and tight acting.

These programs take the viewer on a one-hour journey, from beginning to middle to end.
They're extremely well cast and extremely procedural. This notion of procedure seems to be the key: both franchises explore the protagonists working environments, rather than their external lives.

Law And Order is not relationship based and viewers rarely see into the lives of the characters, Mott says. You get to know them through the case, through the work they do, rather than through their personal lives.

However, there's some very identifiable characters within each show.

One is Detective Bobby Goren, the offbeat, super-intent lead of Law And Order: Criminal Intent.
Goren has become a household name, both here and in the US, thanks to actor Vincent D'Onofrio's approach.

Crime is a broad subject and opens up a wealth of original storylines, says Michael Healy, Nine's director of programming.

``The current trends overseas are with programs creating different angles within the setting of crime drama,'' he says.

``You're going to see a shift towards medical and legal crime dramas.''

Section:  FEATURES

Type:  Review

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